Helsinki, Aleksanterinkatu, the main shopping street during December. Some of us are doing well, some are less lucky.

The Finns might find similarities with the work of Kari, the icon for political cartoonist in Finland. His drawing was published 62 years ago. The design of the christmas lights in Aleksanterinkatu is still the same – and maybe the message of the drawing also …

Helsinki, 12 December 2016

A daily countdown to Christmas, with eight photo posts, some are more, some are less “Christmas-like”. All pictures taken during this December.

6 Responses to The time for giving and sharing (1 day for Christmas)

Today’s shoppers look slimmer and fitter than in 1954. and the removal of cars from the street is a great improvement. Jesus was presumably begging for others; the huddled woman is now left begging for herself, which suggests Jesus’s efforts haven’t had much influence on people. Perhaps the time has come to re-think the way we try to encourage people to be kinder, more generous and thoughtful. This annual orgy of consumption and over-indulgence is clearly not working.

If Kari would live today and would read your comment, I guess he would mostly agree with you. Though he was politically rightest, far more important was his courage and ability to comment critically the political and societal scene of the time. Many of his cartoons are fun and to-the-point still today.